Superman's Little Girl
by BatTitan
Summary: About 26 years into the future, Superman finds an orphaned girl and takes her home, but can he love anyone so soon after Lois's death? Better than it sounds. First complete story!
1. Meeting

**Meeting**

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**Well, since I'm on my cousin's laptop, I decided to type up a whole new story. And I just thought of this. Enjoy!**

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It was raining in Metropolis. Quite surprising, really, considering that Metropolis was usually sunny. However, the figure on top of the Daily Planet didn't really mind the downpour.

Superman ignored the rain as he surveyed the city. It was quiet, unfortunately. Not that he enjoyed putting criminals in their places, but at least he would have something else to focus on besides the one thing that he had been thinking about for the past several months now.

"Lois..." he whispered, not even realizing he had said anything.

He knew it would have happened someday. After all, she _had _been growing older. When it did happen, though, it was not in the way he had expected. It had been a car wreck caused by a drunken driver. Naturally, he had had to fake his own death, since the crash was something no one was expected to survive from. Since then, he only answered to "Superman," "Kal-El," and in Wally West's case, "Boy Scout."

Superman sighed as he placed a foot on the railing of the rooftop, leaning forward to gaze down at the streets below.

"HELP!" A shrill scream pierced the air. Superman's head shot up and he looked down at the alley beside the Daily Planet building. A young woman was there, along with a thug-like man who had a little girl in his arms and a gun in his hand. "My baby!" the woman cried.

"Listen, lady, just let me have the kid and no one'll get hurt." Superman chose to intervene at this, rising into the air and descending into the alley.

"Do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt my baby," the woman pleaded, taking a step forward. Wrong move.

BANG!

Superman froze as the woman crumpled, then regained his composure and dropped into the alley, slamming the man against the wall and catching the kid, putting her aside.

"What did you want with the girl?" he demanded as the man scrambled to pick up his gun.

"Nothing that concerns you, Supes," the man sneered as he pointed the gun at the girl, "I'll shoot her, I swear I will!"

Within seconds, Superman had tossed the gun aside and pinned the man against the wall by his throat.

"I'll ask one more time. What did you want with her?" he questioned.

"She has a meta-gene, telekinesis, telepathy, the works. My boss and I wanted to do experiments on her," the man confessed, clearly terrified. Superman let go and the man promptly fainted. Superman smirked, but then the smile disappeared as he heard a soft childish voice behind him.

"Mama?" He turned to find the little girl shaking her mother's shoulder desperately. "Mama?!" Tears were forming in her bright blue eyes. He sighed, picking her up as she yelped in surprise; this would be the hardest part.

"Your mother isn't coming back," he said gently as the child gazed up confusedly. Slowly, the tears in her eyes began falling as she pressed her face into his shoulder. The sight made him soften as he placed a hand on the girl's back, hugging her carefully. She couldn't be more than two years old. "I'll take you to the police, okay? They'll know what to do." She clutched tightly to him as he lifted into the air, flying towards the police station.

* * *

"Here's her birth certificate," the commissioner (Superman had yet to find out his name) said, handing the paper over and Superman glanced at it.

"Ariel Swan," he read aloud as the girl looked up at the sound of her name. "Is that you?" he asked and she nodded timidly.

"Her father was imprisoned not too long ago for sexual harassment of his wife. No relatives, nothing," the commissioner stated.

"I could take her in," Superman suggested.

"There's an orphanage not far from here, though," the commissioner argued.

"Well, I guess it's up to her," Superman said simply and looked down at her. "Ariel?" Her head lifted once more. "Do you want to go to an orphanage or stay with me?" She hesitated and he prodded, "We'll go with whatever you want." She looked down before mumbling something softly. "I can't hear you," he prompted.

"I...wanna stay wif you," she spoke quietly and he smiled slightly.

"That's it, then." He looked up. "Can we officially sign the adoption papers at a reasonable hour?"

"Fair enough. The kid needs her rest tonight," the commissioner agreed. Superman picked Ariel up, rising into the air and flying out the window as she wrapped her arms around his neck once more.

* * *

Superman landed in his apartment, setting Ariel down in the hallway.

"What's your name?" she asked curiously.

"My name is Kal-El. But you can call me Kal," he replied, starting down the hallway.

"Kal," she repeated happily, following him.

"This is my room. If you need me, just knock on the door, okay?" She nodded and he opened the door across the hall. "You can stay here." She hesitated at the doorway. "Go on." Slowly, she stepped into the room, gazing around with interest. Smiling, he picked her up, ignoring her squeal of surprise, and placed her on the bed. "Why don't you get some sleep?" he suggested and she nodded in agreement.

"Stay?" she requested hopefully, tugging on his sleeve as he made to stand up and Kal-El couldn't help but smile at the little girl.

"If that's what you want." She nodded before moving aside for him to sit down beside her and pull her into his arms. She yawned, resting her head on his chest and within seconds, she was asleep. He made to place her on the bed, but she made a small noise of protest, clutching his shirt tightly in her small hands. Shaking his head, he smiled again before turning off the light and laying down on the bed, watching in amusement as Ariel curled up against him, her tiny thumb in her mouth and a peaceful expression on her face.

What had he gotten himself into?

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**I found this rather cute. Don't worry, I'll have Batman Beyond tie into this in the third chapter. Second will be a meeting with our favorite Bat and little segments of Ariel's life as she grows up (including her first tooth falling out. I'll have fun with that XD). R&R!**


	2. The First Morning

**The First Morning

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**Okay, I changed my mind, Batman Beyond will come in only at the fourth chapter (if you haven't seen the episode The Call, then I suggest you do so before reading it). This chapter is the meeting with Bruce and the next one will be the segments of Ariel's life. Oh, and this story will be a TerryOC pairing in later chapters. Enjoy!**

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Ariel slowly awoke to find the nice man from the night before gone...Kal, he said his name was.

"K-Kal?" she called softly and there was no response. "Kal?" she tried again and he didn't reply. Tears formed in the two-year-old's eyes as she wondered if he had left her just like her mother had. Jumping down from the bed, she ran out into the hall and found him in the kitchen, standing at the stove. "Kal!" she exclaimed in relief and he turned around, giving a smile.

"Morning, sleepy-head." She raced forward, hugging his leg as he blinked in surprise. "Did I miss something here?"

"You went away," she informed him matter-of-factly and his eyes widened in understanding and apology.

"Sorry, Ariel. I guess I should've warned you I wouldn't be there when you woke up." He bent down and picked her up as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"I thought you wewen't coming back," she mumbled, "Like Mommy."

He tightened his grip on her slightly before replying, "Ariel, just because I went away, that doesn't mean I won't come back."

"Dat means Mommy'll come back, too?" she asked hopefully and he bit his lip before shaking his head.

"No. Not everyone who goes away comes back." Her eyes darkened slightly in a way that unnerved him. Two-year-olds shouldn't have that look. Then she brightened up again just as quickly as she had deflated.

"You'll always come back, though, wight?" she asked and he nodded.

"I'll always try to come back. I promise." He placed her down in a chair. "When was the last time you ate?" he asked suddenly and she shrugged. "Do you want anything now?" She shook her head. "Ariel, you have to eat _something_." She scowled and he gave her an amused look. She would get along with Bruce. Which reminded him, he had to talk Bruce into coming out of the manor today. "Just humor me, okay?" She rolled her eyes and then nodded. He set a plate of eggs in front of her, which she slowly began picking at.

"Kal?" He looked up from his own breakfast. "How come you can fly?"

"That depends. Would you be scared of me if I told you?" he returned and she thought about it before shaking her head. "I'm not human, Ariel."

"You look human," she noted and he smiled.

"Well, yeah, I_ look_ human. But I'm actually an alien from the planet Krypton." Surprisingly, she looked interested instead of scared as he had expected her to be.

"Do you miss Kwypton?" she questioned.

"Yeah..." he admitted, raising an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic.

"So why stay hewe?" she suggested. Oh, so _that_ was what she was getting at.

"Krypton exploded when I was even younger than you. My parents sent me here on a space shuttle to protect me," he explained.

"Oh." She looked almost disappointed. "I wanted to see it." He smiled before reaching over to ruffle her hair affectionately.

"I could take you into space someday if you'd like." She cheered up immediately and nodded vigorously before poking at her food once more, seemingly happier. "I just remembered, I have to visit an old friend of mine and I can't leave you home alone. Do you want to come with me?" She looked up, frowning thoughtfully as she chewed a bite of her eggs.

"Is he nice?" He held back a grin; Bruce was hardly what a two-year-old would classify as _nice_.

"Not really. He doesn't like kids." Or adults, or animals, or living creatures of any kind...

Ariel silently thought for a bit longer before stating, "Okay, I wanna come." He raised an eyebrow. "I wanna see if he weally is mean," she explained.

"He is, the sadistic old bat," Kal chuckled as Ariel frowned for a moment.

"What does 'sadistic' mean?"

* * *

Kal-El landed on the doorstep of Wayne Manor with Ariel secure in his arms.

"Long flight," she remarked and he chuckled softly.

"Sorry, Ariel, I couldn't go too fast while holding you." With that, he rang the doorbell.

_"Go away,"_ Bruce's harsh voice came over the intercom.

"Come on, Bruce, we need to talk," Kal protested, pressing the reply button.

_"No."_

"Stubborn old man," he muttered before pressing the button once more, "If you don't open the door right now, Bruce, I'll set a two-year-old on you." Ariel giggled from his arms, causing him to smile down at her. "You'll annoy him for me, won't you?" She nodded, still laughing.

_"A two-year-old?"_ Bruce questioned, perplexed, _"You have a two-year-old with you?"_

"I'll explain when you open the door," Kal prodded and Bruce sighed.

_"Fine."_ The door opened and Bruce reluctantly let Kal in. "So what _are_ you doing with a two-year-old?" he asked.

"She's a meta. Telekinesis, telepathy, the works," Kal quoted the man from the previous night, "Her mother was shot right in front of her and she had nowhere else to go. What else was I supposed to do?"

"You could have left her at an orphanage," Bruce pointed out.

"Who adopts kids from orphanages anymore?" Kal retorted. Then he softened, gazing down at the little girl in his arms. "She needs me, Bruce."

"More like _you_ need _her_." Kal's head shot up. "Clark-"

"Kal," he corrected and Bruce glared.

"Ever since you lost Lois-"

"I'm not trying to replace her with Ariel, if that's what you think!" Kal interrupted angrily, setting Ariel down.

"I didn't say that," Bruce said calmly. There was a long silence.

"This isn't what I came here for," Kal broke the quiet, "Bruce, you really need to stop secluding yourself."

"And if I like being alone?" Bruce argued.

"No one likes to be alone forever," Kal responded and Ariel merely watched the two of them confusedly from her spot on the floor, not having a clue as to what was going on. "Quite frankly, Bruce, I'm worried about you."

"You're really lucky you have the kid with you right now," Bruce snarled.

"Is that a threat?" Kal asked amusedly.

"Consider it what you want."

"Up, Kal?" Ariel requested, tugging on the Kryptonian's sleeve.

"Not now, Ariel," Kal said absently and she stuck out her lower lip, her eyes filling with tears. "Darn it," Kal sighed, placing her back on his lap as she smirked, evidently proud of herself for getting what she wanted.

"Still a softie, I see," Bruce shook his head, "Smart girl, though." Kal gave him a dirty look as Ariel got down and toddled over to Bruce.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully as Bruce merely stared at her in confusion, "I'm Awiel! What's your name?" He blinked, taken aback.

"Um...Bruce."

"See, Kal, he's not mean!" she said to Kal and Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"He said I was mean?"

"_And _that you didn't like kids and you wewe a stubbown old man and a...sa...dis...tic...old bat," she informed him, slowly sounding out the word "sadistic" as Kal gulped.

"Um, Ariel, you can stop now." She looked up, then her eyes went round in understanding.

"Oops." She turned back to Bruce with an innocent look. "Is Kal in twouble?"

"More than you can imagine," Bruce said in a low voice, glaring at his former colleague.

"Oh." Ariel grinned sheepishly. "Sowwy."

"I'm not taking back a single word of that, though," Kal stated as Bruce glared at him. Ariel merely giggled at the two men's actions.

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**Oh, poor Superman is in for it now XD. Next chapter will be up just as soon as this one. R&R!**


	3. Little Moments

**Little Moments

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**These were so much fun to write XD. Enjoy!**

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_3 years later..._

"KAL! THE WORLD IS ENDING!" A small scream came from the bathroom. Kal merely looked up from his newspaper and shook his head.

"Ariel, I've seen the end of the world before. It can't be that bad. Now what's wrong?"

"My tooth fell out!" she whined, coming out with a small white tooth in her hand. He chuckled and she scowled. "It's not funny!"

"I'm sorry, it's just...of all things, you panic over a loose tooth..." He was full-out laughing now as she scowled.

"Fine, once I bleed to death, you'll be sorry!" she snapped, stomping off to her bedroom.

He struggled to get his laughter under control long enough to instruct, "Just keep rinsing your mouth out, that should stop the bleeding." Then he descended into laughter again as she gave him a dirty look.

Two minutes after Ariel had stopped the bleeding, she placed the tooth under her pillow after calling her friend in kindergarten (she couldn't trust Kal, he would just start laughing again), who had kindly explained the process of baby teeth and adult teeth to her.

The next morning, she found a twenty-dollar bill under her pillow and, since her friend had explained that to her as well, her faith in Kal was restored.

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_2 years later..._

"I think I'm sick," Ariel coughed, entering the kitchen.

"You're hardly ever sick," Kal countered, kneeling down beside her and feeling her forehead.

"I know," she agreed, but then coughed even harder.

"Whoa, you really are sick," he noted, taking her temperature with a thermometer, "102 degrees. That's it, you're staying home from school."

"But I have a spelling test," she argued.

"You can make it up later." She reluctantly allowed him to carry her back to her room, where she curled up under the blankets, shivering.

When Kal came into the room later to check on her, he found her lifting her hand weakly as a glass of water hung in midair shakily, slowly drifting over to the bed. She suddenly dropped her hand to cover her mouth as another coughing fit took over and the glass dropped. Quickly, Kal caught it and handed it to her.

"You could've just asked me, you know," he pointed out as she took a small gulp of water.

"I keep losing control," she said dejectedly, placing the glass back on her bedside table.

"You need proper training if you want to-"

"I meant at school. I keep making things happen and all the other kids know it's my fault." He frowned; he had never heard about any of this happening. "They don't like me," she said plainly, "They call me a freak." Tears were forming in her eyes. "My friends hate me now."

"Ariel, it isn't your fault you have no control," Kal said gently as the tears in her eyes brimmed over, "You're still too young to realize you're even doing anything." She pressed her face into the pillow to keep herself from crying. "Air, it's okay." He pulled her into his arms as she gave in and began crying into his chest, her shoulders trembling with silent sobs.

"I just want to be normal," she whispered and his grip tightened on her.

"Why haven't I heard about any of this?" he demanded quietly.

"I figured you had other things to think about," she admitted just as softly.

"Air..."

"I know, it was stupid," she said quickly.

"I was actually going to say that you should get some sleep," he finished amusedly as she flushed before lying back down on the bed.

"It was my fault my mom died," she mumbled as he stood up to leave, "He killed her because he wanted me. Me and my stupid meta-gene."

"It was not your fault," he said firmly, "Your mother knew what she was doing." Stroking her hair gently, he sat back down beside her.

"Kal?"

"Yes?"

"I'm not really a...a _freak_, am I?" He wished he had imagined the desperate tone in her voice.

"Course not. That's like saying _I'm_ a freak."

She smirked, "Well, you are pretty freaky." He gave her a mock-glare as she smiled weakly, "I love you, Boy Scout."

"Love you, too, angel." They both had decided about a year ago (actually, it was Ariel who had come up with the idea) that they needed nicknames for each other. So Kal had chosen "angel" for Ariel and she had picked the ever-popular "Boy Scout" for him. He really needed to kill Wally for corrupting her.

She yawned and he smiled at her.

"Tired?"

She gave a faint grin, "A little."

"Get some rest, then." He pulled her into his arms as she rested her head on his chest, closing her eyes.

"Kal?"

"Do you have some natural hatred for sleep, Ariel?" he asked amusedly as she blushed.

"No...this time, I had a question." He gestured for her to continue and she hesitated. Not a good sign. Then she asked, "Who's Lois?" He froze.

"How do you know her name?"

"I sort of remember the day after you adopted me, I met Bruce. You had a fight with him...over me," she said, looking away.

"You remember that?" he asked.

"The details are a bit fuzzy," she admitted, "But I remember hearing Bruce say something about Lois. Who is she?"

He sighed. "Lois...was my wife. She died about six months before I met you." Her mouth formed an O as she understood.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I didn't mean to bring anything up."

"You didn't," he said quickly as he saw that she was about to go into another guilt trip.

"What was she like?" she asked curiously, sitting up and laying her head on his shoulder.

"Don't you think you should be sleeping?" he hinted.

"I'm not tired anymore," she stated, then repeated, "So what was she like?"

"...sarcastic." She chuckled. "No, really, she was. She actually hated me when we first met. Called me 'Smallville.'" Ariel grinned. "She liked Superman, though. She only hated Clark Kent." She raised an eyebrow. "That was the name I went by before," he explained, "Eventually, I grew on her and she found out who I was." He spent the rest of the day talking about Lois for the first time in years.

* * *

_2 years later..._

"NO!" Ariel shot up in bed, gasping for air and clutching her blanket tightly. Slowly, she let go of the blanket and slipped out of bed, making her way to the kitchen.

"Couldn't sleep, either, huh?" She jumped and then scowled at Kal, who smirked at her from the table.

"Do you seriously take pleasure in scaring the heck out of everyone?" He grinned.

"Nah, that's Bruce." She smirked before sitting down across the table. "You want to talk about it?"

"No." She placed her arms on the table and buried her face in them.

"That's not going to keep me out, you know," he pointed out amusedly. She lifted her head long enough to stick her tongue out at him before dropping it back into her arms. He sighed. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just leave me alone," she snapped, her voice muffled. He reached over and placed a hand on top of hers. She looked up and then gave a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She let her hand close around his and then sighed as he frowned. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"...no."

"I'm listening."

"...the night Mom died," she admitted.

"You still remember?"

"Bits and pieces," she said simply, shrugging, "A scream, a shot. That's about it."

"But it still scared you," he noted.

"Not so much as how scared I had been back then," she corrected. There was a long silence.

"...do you want to stay with me tonight?" She looked up confusedly.

"You sure?" He nodded, picking her up suddenly as she reflexively curled up against him.

"Why were you up?" she asked sleepily as they entered his room.

"Uh, you should probably go to sleep now," Kal said quickly and relaxed as she nodded tiredly.

"Kay." He laid her down on the bed before lying down beside her. She immediately moved to rest her head on his chest. "Love you, Boy Scout."

"I love you, too, angel." He pressed his lips to her forehead as she fell asleep.

Ariel never did find out why Kal had been awake that night.

* * *

_4 years later..._

...let's just say that Kal-El would be forever grateful that Ariel had taken Health class in school.

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**I hope you understood what had happened in the last one. Actually, two things happened XD. The middle two moments, I just couldn't resist the cuteness in those situations. As for the tooth...I actually reacted quite similarly when I lost my first tooth LOL. Next stop, Batman Beyond! R&R!**


	4. Something's Wrong

**Something's Wrong

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**See, I'm updating fast because I have nothing to do here in India XD. Enjoy!**

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_3 years later..._

A sixteen-year-old Ariel perched on the railing of the Daily Planet, gazing out over the city.

"Everything quiet?" Superman questioned, landing beside her as she nodded once.

"Seems to be." A store alarm sounded. "Or not." Seeing Superman about to head over, she raised a hand to stop him. "I've got it. I've needed to test out my powers all week." He obediently lowered back to the rooftop as she floated up instead.

Only a few years earlier, Ariel had discovered that she had flight capabilities and that was when Kal-El had asked a former Teen Titan, Raven (now Rachel Logan, since she had married Garfield Logan, formerly Beast Boy), to help Ariel control her telekinesis and other abilities through meditation. Of course, Ariel was still not completely in control. She still had power surges when she lost control of her powers for no reason at all.

"Damn it, not again," she muttered when a dumpster rattled rather noisily behind her as she landed in an alley. Unfortunately, the noise alerted the two thugs attempting to break into the jewellery store and they gulped as they saw her approach.

"Gah, it's Superman's sidekick!" Ariel frowned. She hated when people always associated her with Superman.

"It's _Raven_," she snarled, lifting the two men and slamming them into the dumpster.

It was true; Raven had allowed Ariel to take on her identity. She had even agreed to let the teenage girl have some of her old cloaks and leotards.

"Not bad," Superman commented, landing beside Raven once again.

"I've been taking a leaf out of Batman's book," Raven commented with a grin. The good thing was that she didn't need to suppress her emotions to control her powers.

"Still keeping in contact with him?" Superman asked.

"You _know_ I've been emailing him ever since I was allowed to use the Internet on my own," Raven replied. She had recently received an email from Bruce with tips on intimidation. She frowned, giving Superman a look. "Are you okay?" He had seemed off since the year she had turned ten.

"I'm fine," he replied, giving her an odd look, "Why?"

"Just asking. Anything new with the Justice League?" she asked as they both lifted into the air.

"Well, ever since Micron's 'accident,' I've been worried. There might be a traitor within the League." Raven frowned. She remembered hearing about her fellow teammate's incident with the monorail. He was still in a coma.

"So, what, we bring in someone else to spy on the others?" she suggested.

"That seems like the best thing we can do right now," he agreed.

"But who?" she questioned.

"Batman." She grinned, having heard about the new Batman from Bruce.

"Boy, is the old man gonna be surprised about this."

* * *

"Any idea where we might find the rodent?" Raven asked as they reached Gotham, receiving an amused look from Superman. "What? From what I've heard from the old man, he's an annoying brat."

"And you're probably right, but he's the best chance we've got of finding out what's going on," Superman pointed out.

"Okay, okay..." Suddenly, two hovercars sped by them. "I think that was him," Raven commented. They both lifted into the air again and followed the car chase, landing in the zoo near the seal exhibit. "There he is," Raven gestured.

Batman was approaching a ink-like creature and Superman pushed Raven back.

"Stay in the shadows." She nodded and stepped under the bridge, waiting. Suddenly, the ink creature wrapped itself around Superman, causing Raven to stiffen. However, he made a calming gesture with his hand and she nodded, still in the shadows.

"Let him go, Inque, he's just an innocent bystander," Batman demanded. Oh, wow, even his voice sounded annoying.

"It's all right, I can take it from here," Superman said, spinning around so fast that Inque was splattered all over the place. "Raven, if you will?" She stepped out and formed a bubble of water with her telekinesis, trapping Inque's pieces in the bubble. "Nice," he remarked, impressed.

"I've been practicing," Raven replied with a smirk. Then she looked over at Batman, whose jaw was dropped. "Close your mouth before you catch flies, Bats." He abruptly shut his mouth.

"You have some explaining to do...after we drop this," he gestured to the Inque-bubble, "at the police station."

* * *

"So, think he's as annoying as Bruce said?" Superman said quietly as they followed Batman to the Batcave.

"I haven't made a decision yet. But he probably _is_ annoying and bratty and-" Raven's jaw dropped as Batman removed his mask when they reached the solitude of the cave. "-drop dead _gorgeous_," she whispered as Superman rolled his eyes.

Meanwhile, Batman had been having a similar conversation with Bruce.

"Who does this girl think she is, showing up with her psychic powers and pretending to be so in control of them? She's probably bratty and annoying and-" His breath caught in his throat as Raven lowered her cloak's hood. "-beautiful," he murmured as Bruce rolled his eyes.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Raven spoke.

"I suppose now we have to reintroduce ourselves," she said with a small grin. Batman returned it before sticking out his hand.

"Terry McGinnis." She took his outstretched hand.

"Ariel Swan." Their hands stayed linked longer than they should have and it was only when Bruce cleared his throat that they snapped out of it, pulling away instantly and turning red. "Hi, Bruce," Ariel greeted, giving a smile.

"You know each other?" Terry questioned.

"We met when she was two years old," Bruce said simply.

"And kept in touch over email ever since I learned to use the Internet," Ariel added, smirking, "I used one of those intimidation tips, by the way. Worked like a charm."

"Which one, sneaking up on the opponent?"

"No, I had another power surge, so I couldn't try that. I used the scary voice," she explained.

"I like that one," Terry put in with a smirk.

"I noticed," Ariel teased. Now that his voice had changed into something more human, she found that his voice was actually likeable. Then she yelped as a large black dog jumped on her, pinning her down to the cave floor. The dog growled, then licked her cheek as she giggled.

"Ace, get off of her!" Terry commanded, laughing as Ace obeyed. She stuck out her tongue at him as she sat up.

"You never told me you got a trained attack dog, Bruce," she commented, scratching Ace behind the ears as he wagged his tail.

"It never came up." She gave him a glare. "You're lucky he likes you."

"So what are you doing here in Gotham? I thought you were based in Metropolis," Terry commented and Superman nodded.

"We are. We think it's time your protégé joined the Justice League," he said to Bruce as Terry's eyes widened.

"The Justice League?" he hissed to Ariel as she shrugged.

"Why not?"

"I can't help but consider the timing," Bruce was saying to Superman, "Is he supposed to be a replacement for Micron?"

"No," Ariel piped up, "We've watched him for some time now."

"Should I be scared?" Terry joked as she gave him a smile.

"His time has come, Bruce. What do you say?" Superman asked.

"I don't think it's my decision to make." They both turned to Terry.

"The Justice League..." he muttered, then nodded. "Okay." Ariel grinned; it would be good to have someone her age at the Watchtower.

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**And thus, Terry is inducted into the League. R&R!**


	5. Unwelcome

**Unwelcome **

**YAY for updating fast! XD Enjoy!**

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At the Watchtower, the other members of the League weren't too happy with Superman. They would have yelled at Raven, too, but she had muttered some excuse about checking on Micron and left. Now Terry knew why.

"This is League business. How dare you bring him in without consulting us?! It's completely against procedure!" Big Barda demanded.

"Batman was one of the League's founding members," Superman said calmly.

"The real Batman, not this pointy-eared punk," Warhawk replied as Batman glared at him.

"I thought we were a team. Slaves on Apokalips are treated with more respect," Barda spat.

"Please," Green Lantern said quietly, "Anger just clouds the issue."

"Barda and Warhawk have a point, though," Aquagirl spoke up, "No offense."

"People, calm down," Raven said with a smirk, entering the room.

"Thanks for feeding us to the sharks, Raven," Batman said sardonically, causing her to stick out her tongue at him rather childishly.

"This isn't up for discussion, though," she continued, turning to the others, "Like it or not, he stays." Barda glared and pushed past her, leaving the room. Her shoulder slammed into Raven's and the younger girl winced, rubbing her arm ruefully when she thought Barda wasn't looking. Green Lantern and Aquagirl merely gave apologetic looks before following.

"Just keep out of my way, junior. Hawks eat rodents like you for breakfast," Warhawk threatened, poking Batman in the chest before leaving. Raven smiled and shrugged as Batman looked at her confusedly.

"Don't get too worked up over it. They did pretty much the same thing to me when I first joined."

"Except they weren't as hostile to you," Superman said to her.

"Yeah, because you told them to back off," she pointed out with a smirk.

"Maybe this was a mistake," Batman cut in, looking down.

"No. We need someone we can trust," Superman stated, causing Batman to give him a confused look.

"Come on," Raven said, taking his hand and leading him to the room where they had kept Micron as he healed.

"Micron's hanging on, but his cellular structure was severely damaged," Superman noted.

"Whoa...that was some accident," Batman commented.

"Whoa...someone deliberately caused that wreck," Superman corrected, "And we think it was an inside job."

"What do you mean?" Batman asked and Raven held up a green chip.

"We found this on the monorail. Not even Micron could slip through the force field it generates," she explained.

"But anyone could have put it there, right?" Batman questioned and she shook her head.

"No. It has technology only the League has access to," she said simply.

"I can't believe it. These guys are all big-time heroes," Batman muttered.

"I know. But we can't take any chances, which is why we wanted you here," Superman replied.

"To spy on them?" Batman realized, then smirked, "That's gonna make me real popular." Raven chuckled. "I'm going to need to look over their files," he said and Superman nodded to Raven.

"She can show you where the computer is." Raven nodded once and left the room, Batman following.

"They don't like me, do they?" he asked as they made their way through the different corridors.

"Eh, they'll come around soon enough. Like I said, they did the same to me until Kal told them to stop," she comforted him.

"Kal?"

"Superman. That's just what I call him, along with Boy Scout," she said with a grin.

"How did you meet him, anyway?"

"I don't really remember much, though Kal told me what happened when I grew old enough to understand. My mom and I had been going down an alley in Metropolis when someone cornered us. He grabbed me and my mom screamed. He shot her to keep anyone from coming to find out what was going on." Raven took a deep breath and continued, "Superman heard her, though, and came just when she was shot. He saved me and found out that the guy had kidnapped me because of my meta-gene. His boss wanted to use me for experiments. After dealing with him, Kal took me to his place. He signed the adoption papers the next morning." She smiled slightly. "Mostly smooth sailing from there."

"And Bruce?"

"Yeah, well, I don't remember much of that, either, just that the same day he adopted me, he took me over to Wayne Manor to try and get Bruce to come out of the Manor. I swear he's a vampire," she remarked.

"I hope you heard that, old man," Batman said, pressing a hand to his ear. What Bruce said in response made him laugh.

"What?" she asked and he shook his head.

"You don't want to know." She smirked before continuing.

"Well, while they were talking, I was just sitting on the sidelines. So I figured I might as well introduce myself." Seeing Batman shake his head, she argued, "I was only two, spare me. Anyway, I made him tell me his name and then I turned to Kal and said, 'See, he's not mean!'" Batman chuckled.

"Bet that went well."

"Yeah, and I ended up telling Bruce what Kal had called him, including a 'stubborn old man' and a 'sadistic old bat.'" He was full-out laughing now. "I wish I remembered that. Must've been hilarious." Batman pressed his hand to his ear and then smirked.

"He says it was." Raven merely rolled her eyes, then opened a door.

"Here it is." She stood aside as he stepped into the room. "Need any help?"

"I'm fine," he said and she nodded, leaving the room. She saw Aquagirl pass her and frowned.

"You're not going to attack him, are you?" she asked and Aquagirl smiled, shaking her head.

"As much as I agree with Barda and Warhawk, you and Superman obviously had a good reason for this."

"Thanks," Raven returned the smile.

"Want to join me for a swim later?" Aquagirl offered.

"No thanks. My hair's a mess when it gets wet," Raven joked, heading down to one of the training rooms.

* * *

"Raven, we need to talk," Barda said as the teenage girl passed her.

"No, we don't," Raven replied, entering the training room and setting up a synthodrone.

"Yes, we do! What gave you and Superman the right to bring Batman into all this?!"

"The fact that he's the leader," Raven retorted.

"And why are you with him on this?" Barda asked, then paused, smirking, "You like him, don't you?"

"Ew, no, Kal is like sixty-something years my senior." Barda gave her a look. "No, seriously, who are you talking about?"

"Batman." Raven flushed and was very grateful that she had her hood up.

"Um...no?"

"You're a terrible liar," Barda noted.

"Okay, yes, I like him, are you happy?" she snapped, "But seriously, you can't blame me. You haven't seen him with his mask off."

"What is it with those Bat-people and attracting women? First it was the old Batman, then Nightwing, then Robin..." Barda listed.

"Can I get back to training now?" Raven asked.

"Oh, fine. But Warhawk's ready to rip you and Kal apart for this."

"Tell him I said, 'Screw you,'" Raven instructed before blocking a punch that the synthodrone threw at her.

"This ought to be fun," Barda muttered, leaving the room as Raven kicked the synthodrone into the wall. She picked up a disc that was lying nearby with her telekinesis and tossed it at the synthodrone, beheading it easily. As she punched it once more through the body, the synthodrone collapsed. She smirked and pulled back her hood, wiping her forehead before deciding to go off and bother Green Lantern.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked, popping up behind him.

"Meditating. Go away." She chuckled before stepping back a bit.

"You're not mad at me, too, are you?" she questioned and he opened one eye before smiling.

"No."

"Thanks, Kai-ro. I'd kiss you if I didn't think that was kind of creepy. No offense," she laughed as he merely rolled his eyes.

"Want to join me?" he offered and Raven shook her head.

"As much as the original Raven would want me to, I hate meditating," she admitted before leaving.

* * *

Raven was wandering the halls when Batman raced past her, grabbing her arm as he went.

"Where's the fire?" she joked, trying to keep up.

"Aquagirl," he said simply and her eyes widened.

"Another sabotage?"

"Looks like it." They stopped in front of the tank where she was swimming.

_"Marina, what's going on?"_ Raven asked telepathically and got no response. "I can't get a response from her," she said with a frown.

"Telepathy?" She nodded, leaning against the wall to catch her breath. Then she heard a tapping behind her and saw Aquagirl pointing at the door before losing consciousness.

"We have to get her out of there!" she said and tried touching the board, but ended up getting zapped by a spark of electricity. "Ow! The thing's short-circuited!"

"Wait here," Batman said, running out of the room. He returned in a minute, carrying Barda's weapon (Raven never found out what it was called). "You might want to move," he said and Raven immediately lifted into the air, landing behind him as he fired the weapon at the tank.

"You didn't steal that from Barda, did you?" she asked and he gave a sheepish grin as the tank exploded. "She's gonna kill you!" Raven exclaimed, grabbing his arm and lifting him into the air as the water flooded the room.

"Let go!" he commanded and she hesitated. "I have to get Marina!" She let him go and he dove into the water. She floated up to where Warhawk and Barda were waiting.

"Explain later," she cut them off as they opened their mouths. Suddenly, Batman shot out of the tank, Aquagirl in his arms. "Is she okay?" Raven asked, kneeling down beside them.

"What did you do to her?!" Barda demanded.

"It wasn't his fault, the tank malfunctioned," Aquagirl said weakly, "I couldn't get out."

"Why didn't you call us on the intercom?" Warhawk asked as Raven got up, confused.

"There's an intercom?"

"Oh, great, just when we thought she was getting used to the Watchtower," Warhawk moaned, rubbing his forehead.

"No, seriously, where?" Raven asked and Warhawk pointed at it. "Oh. Oops." She grinned sheepishly.

"I didn't think-" Batman began, but Barda cut him off.

"That's right, you _didn't _think. And it almost cost Marina her life," she spat, lifting Aquagirl up and carrying her out of the room. Warhawk merely glared before following.

Batman sighed, staring at the floor as Raven returned to his side, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. We both panicked." He looked up with a small grin as she returned it. "She's gonna be okay."

* * *

**Poor Terry, only a few hours and the League's already against him. R&R!**


	6. The Loss

**The Loss

* * *

**

**Um...running out of things to say...enjoy!**

* * *

"I heard what happened," Superman said as he and Raven stood behind Batman.

"I'm running a diagnostic on the tank's operating system," Batman replied.

"To see if it really was a malfunction?" Raven asked and got a nod in return. Something beeped and he bent down, retrieving a green chip from underneath the console board.

"This micro-controller's burned out. All its circuits are fused." He held out the chip and Superman took it.

"Sabotage," he muttered and Raven and Batman exchanged a triumphant look. They had been right. "This confirms it," Superman said as he crushed the chip, "There's a traitor among us." This time, the two teenagers exchanged a surprised look.

* * *

"So you trust him now?" Raven asked Aquagirl as she sat down beside her on the examination table.

"He did save me." Raven shot her a hurt look. "Along with you, of course."

"Thank you," Raven smirked as Aquagirl smiled.

"You like him, don't you?"

"Oh, no!" Raven moaned, "First Barda, then you..."

"So it's true!" Aquagirl squealed as Raven sighed, removing her hood.

"Yeah, I like him." Aquagirl smirked at the younger girl. "You wouldn't blame me if you saw him without the mask. He's drop dead gorgeous," Ariel informed her.

"That cute, huh?" Ariel nodded. "Better get him before it's too late."

"It _is_ too late, he told me he has a girlfriend," Ariel sighed dejectedly as Aquagirl patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"There are other fish in the sea. No pun intended," she added quickly as Ariel laughed.

"But he's the only fish I want," the teenage girl admitted. Aquagirl was saved from a response when an alarm rang through the Watchtower. "Trouble," Ariel stated, pulling her hood back on and the two left the room.

* * *

"So we should spread out over the city?" Raven asked as she floated beside Superman.

"That seems like the best we can do." An explosion sounded over the water somewhere. "Go with Aquagirl and see what that was." She nodded, turning in that direction and flying off.

"What happened?" she asked as she hovered above the water beside Aquagirl, who was riding a shark.

"A boat exploded," she explained, "Did Superman tell you to come with me?" Raven nodded. "We need to get the people to safety." Raven nodded once more before lifting two people at once with her telekinesis and moving them to the shore. Aquagirl called some dolphins to rescue the others. Eventually, they got everyone to safety and Superman arrived to put the fire on the boat out.

"Raven, I told Batman to stay near you, okay?" She nodded, ignoring Aquagirl's knowing smirk, before lifting into the air and returning to the city, where Batman was waiting inside his Batmobile.

"Superman said-" Batman began and she cut him off.

"I know, he told me. Just keep your distance, though," she instructed and then took out her commlink. An emergency call was coming in and she looked up. "You getting a call from the JLU frequency?"

"No." She frowned, looking back down at her commlink, where the word Emergency repeatedly flashed in bright red.

"Wait here," she said, diving down into a building as he waited patiently. Then he noticed a missile headed for the city and called Raven on her commlink.

"Raven-"

"I see it. I'll be out in a second," she interrupted and, within seconds, he saw her appear and fly off towards the missile. She managed to pull it away from the city with her telekinesis before she landed on it, trying to see if she could turn it off. Suddenly, Batman's eyes widened as the missile exploded.

He tried to pilot the Batmobile towards the explosion, but the blast pushed him away, causing the hovercar to crash into the street below. He groaned, pushing his way out of the wreck just as a blue cloth fluttered to the ground. Picking it up slowly, he realized it was Raven's cloak.

"Ariel..." he whispered, closing his eyes and holding the tattered cloth tightly.

"What happened, where's-?" Barda began as she, Warhawk, and Aquagirl came over, but then they all froze when they saw the cloak.

"Oh God, not her," Warhawk said, eyes wide as he took a step back.

"Raven..." Aquagirl murmured, dropping onto her knees and burying her face in her hands.

They all knew it had happened, but didn't want to accept it; Ariel Swan was no more.

* * *

"There has to be some reason the thing exploded just as Ariel landed on it," Terry said in the cave as Bruce tapped away on the Batcomputer, recapturing the footage of the event.

"There is." The old man switched the computer to a different point of view and pointed at the screen. "There. Something triggered that explosion."

"Where is it coming from?" Terry asked.

"Computer. Pan left." The computer moved to show the edge of the city and the person who had triggered the blast.

"Superman," Terry whispered, eyes wide. The screen showed Superman with red lasers coming out of his eyes. "Superman's the traitor," he realized, bowing his head.

"One problem." Terry looked up confusedly. "Superman would never hurt Ariel of his own free will. He loved her more than anything."

"Mind control?" Terry suggested and Bruce nodded thoughtfully.

"Could be. It seems like the only logical explanation."

"Think she could have survived?" Terry asked hopefully and Bruce gave him a condescending look before playing the footage again. Terry winced as he relived the explosion.

"What do you think?" Terry's only response was to close his eyes miserably.

* * *

**Ah, Bruce is so mean, making Terry see it over and over again. R&R!**


	7. Discoveries

**Discoveries

* * *

**

**I'm kinda disappointed that not a lot of people reviewed about the fact that I just killed off the main character. Enjoy!**

* * *

Needless to say, when Batman presented his information to the Justice League, it was not received well.

"There's no way Superman killed Raven!" Warhawk snapped, "He loved her too much!"

"He was the one who came to you, and now you're accusing him of murder! It doesn't make sense!" Barda agreed.

"I know it doesn't. But we're never going to get to the bottom of this unless you stop being so pigheaded!" Batman argued and Aquagirl and Green Lantern winced. That would _not_ go over well with Barda.

"Pigheaded?!" Batman then received a punch to the face, causing him to fly back and hit the wall. She went to hit him again, but a green glow surrounded her fist, pulling her back as a green bubble formed around her. "Let go of me, Lantern!" she hissed and Green Lantern shook his head.

"Not until you calm down."

"Yeah, Barda, calm down. Batman's right," a soft voice came from the shadows. The mysterious figure stepped into the light and everyone froze. Green Lantern let go of Barda in shock.

"Ariel!" Barda ran forward and practically squeezed the life out of the teenage girl as she gasped.

"Choking...not...breathing...!" Barda immediately dropped her as she massaged her throat. "Jeez, Barda, are you trying to finish me off since the explosion didn't?!"

"But how did you survive?" Aquagirl asked, stepping forward as Raven grinned sheepishly, brushing a stray lock of black hair out of her eyes.

"Guess I have a lot of explaining to do, don't I?" They all nodded mutely. "When I got the emergency call and no one else did, I realized something was wrong, so I took off my cloak and made it look as though I was wearing it. I used my powers to get it up to the missile. After everything died down, I went home, grabbed another cloak, and came back here."

"I could kill you for making us worry like that!" Barda snapped as Raven winced.

"I was only gone a few hours."

"A few hours in which we thought you were dead! Were you trying to give us heart attacks?!" Warhawk exclaimed.

"I didn't think I was that convincing," she admitted, chuckling.

"Yeah, well, you definitely convinced us," Batman said and she stopped laughing, an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry." He reached forward and pulled her into a gentle hug.

"Thank God you're okay," he whispered as she blushed. Aquagirl and Barda smirked as Raven narrowed her sapphire eyes at them in warning.

"So you think Superman really is the traitor?" Aquagirl asked when Batman let Raven go.

"I saw him trigger the explosion. You'd think that if I was annoying him, he would've just said so instead of trying to off me," Raven smirked.

"It's not funny, Raven!" Warhawk said angrily as the smile dropped from the teenage girl's face.

"I know." Her gaze dropped to the floor. "Kal wouldn't hurt me on purpose. I know he wouldn't."

"He's under some kind of mind control. That's the only logical explanation," Batman stated.

"I say we talk to him before making any assumptions, though," Raven suggested, heading for the door as the others followed.

"Right, and _then_ we rip his arms off," Warhawk said with a smirk before wincing as Raven punched him in the arm.

* * *

"We need to talk," Barda said as they entered the room Micron was kept in, Raven at the back of the group. Superman had been fiddling around with Micron's status board, but quickly turned. Raven suspected he was trying to finish the job.

"What is it?" Raven stepped forward, noting the surprise on his face, but the lifeless look in his eyes.

"Hi, Kal."

"Ariel? How did you-?" he began, eyes wide.

"That's not important," she cut him off. If something really _was_ controlling him, she didn't want whatever it was to know how she had survived. "Something's bothering you, now what is it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said defensively, moving instinctively away.

"Dad..." She only called him 'Dad' when she was sincerely worried, which wasn't often. She moved forward to place a hand on his shoulder, but then screamed as something tore through his uniform before scuttling out of sight to rest on his shoulder.

"What the-" Warhawk began before Superman tossed him at the wall. Raven noticed Batman pulling something out of his utility belt that was slightly glowing green and she gasped.

"Is that-?" He shushed her quickly, but then Superman backhanded him, sending the Kryptonite piece into a grate. "You can't seriously be planning to use that on him?!" she hissed as he ran over to the grate, attempting to fish it out. "It'll-" Her voice choked and then she finished in a whisper, "It'll _kill_ him."

"I know. But we have to stop him, no matter what it takes," Batman replied and then gave up trying to get the piece out. Instead, he completely ripped away the bars covering the grate before picking it up. Before he could use it, however, Superman had smashed a hole into the wall before flying away.

"...well, this sucks," Raven spoke finally and everyone merely gave weak grins or nodded in agreement.

* * *

"So where do you think he could have gone?" Aquagirl asked as they sat in the medical lab, treating Warhawk's injuries. He had apparently sustained a few cuts during the fight.

"Probably to his Fortress," Batman said as Raven cringed. She hated the Fortress of Solitude, even though she had only been there once. The alien creatures there scared her.

"Do you know where it is?" Barda asked her.

"Why are you asking me?" she retorted.

"You _are_ his adopted daughter," Warhawk pointed out and she sighed.

"Yeah, I know where it is. The Antarctic." Barda brought out her boom tube remote. "No!" Raven protested.

"How else do you suggest we get there?" Barda argued.

"Any way _other_ than the boom tube! I hate that thing!" Raven snapped.

"Raven, it's the fastest way of getting there," Green Lantern stated and she sighed in resignation.

"Fine. But no laughing when I fall. And I _will_ fall." Warhawk and Aquagirl smirked as Barda handed Raven the remote. Picturing the entrance to the Fortress of Solitude in her head, Raven activated the boom tube, causing the portal to form. Most of the League made it through without a problem, but Raven and Batman ended up tripping and falling. "Told you," Raven said with a chuckle, leaping to her feet and helping Batman up as he grumbled quietly to himself.

"Which way?" Green Lantern asked and Raven calmed down enough to walk forward down a path.

"Kal brought me here once when I was little. I got so scared by the creatures that-EEP!" One slug-like creature threw itself at the wall of the tank it was in, making a squelching noise as it popped off. "Guess they remember me." She stuck her tongue out at the slug, which gave it incentive to bang against the glass once more, repeating the squelching sound. "That's right, throw yourself at me all you want, but you can't get me!" Batman smiled and shook his head at Raven's immaturity.

"This one's empty," he said, looking into an open tank.

"Something was in here, all right," Green Lantern said, pointing at some blue balls.

"What is it, food?" Batman asked, picking one up as Raven snickered.

"Used to be," she commented, smirking as his eyes widened in comprehension.

"Ugh!" He flicked the ball away and they left the tank.

"Look!" Aquagirl pointed to the end of the hallway where Superman was standing in the shadows. Batman threw a Batarang, which sliced off his head as Raven yelped in shock.

"Calm down, it's just a robot," Batman reassured her, picking up the android's head and showing it to her as she visibly exhaled in relief. Then he suddenly threw a rope behind her and she turned to find another Superman with his hands tied. He smirked and pulled on the rope, causing Batman to lose his balance and fall.

"Yep, that's the real him," Raven noted. Batman let go of the rope and pulled out the Kryptonite, showing it to Superman's face as he backed away from the greenish glow, shielding himself. Eventually, however, he collapsed and Raven raced to his side, pulling off her hood to show her worried expression.

"Careful, Air," Warhawk cautioned as she gently pressed two fingers to Superman's neck and then relaxed when she felt a steady pulse.

"Now's a good time as any to find out what that thing is," Barda stated, pulling off the top half of Superman's costume. Then everyone except for Batman and Ariel backed away upon seeing the creature that was controlling the Man of Steel.

* * *

**Sorry it took longer to update this chapter, but I didn't have time. I had to visit my aunt in her house and Internet wasn't working there, so then I had to come back and then my cousin stole her laptop back for two hours to check her email and by then it was 7 and I was exhausted (jetlag never really wore off for me). **

**Now y'all didn't actually think I killed Ariel, do you? XDDDD**

**R&R!**


	8. The Rescue

**The Rescue **

**This was the chapter that actually got me started on writing this fic. Enjoy!**

* * *

Ariel was the first to speak, though the comment was not something the Justice League expected.

"...is that a Pokémon?" she snickered as everyone, with the exception of Aquagirl and Batman, either groaned or rubbed their foreheads exasperatedly. Indeed, the creature that had attached itself to Superman's chest bore a frightening resemblance to the famous Water Pokémon, Starmie.

"For Kal's sake, let's hope not," Aquagirl said amusedly, kneeling down beside them, "It seems to be some sort of alien creature."

"It's attached to him," Ariel noted, "Any way of removing it?"

"Since Superman himself is alien, I do not understand their connection," Green Lantern stated.

"Meaning that he has absolutely no idea," Barda clarified and Ariel scowled.

"Trust you to put a positive spin on the situation."

"Why don't we just kill the thing?" Barda suggested.

"We can't hurt a sentient being!" Ariel exclaimed as Warhawk groaned.

"Great, the kid's become a Girl Scout in Superman's place." She scowled before turning back to the starfish-like creature and sending a telepathic message.

_"Hello, my name is Ariel. What is yours?"_

_"I am Starro," _the alien replied, _"And I am in control of this Kryptonian."_

_"But he's my guardian," _Ariel responded, _"So I'd appreciate if I could have him back."_

_"NO!"_ With this mental shout, Ariel was pushed out of Starro's mind and she backed away a few steps.

"Someone's being possessive." She glared at Starro, who merely tightened his grip on Superman slightly. "Marina, d'you mind taking a peek into Starro's head?"

"The thing has a name now?" Barda asked as Ariel continued to glower at the starfish and Aquagirl knelt down, placing a hand against Starro.

"Apparently. I'm going to see if Kal can still-" She stopped, but they knew what she was going to say. _If Kal can still be saved. _She attempted to relink her mind with Starro's, knowing that Aquagirl wouldn't be distracted. _"Kal, can you hear me?!"_ she called desperately. She hoped that the Man of Steel was still in there somewhere. If he wasn't, then it would be too late._ "Kal!"_

_"Ariel?" _she heard a familiar, but weak voice respond, but then Starro intervened.

_"Get your own Kryptonian,"_ the starfish hissed, shoving her back out of his mind.

"Serious possessiveness," she muttered, rubbing her forehead before looking up to see the others looking at her worriedly. "He's in there, all right. But he's in there pretty deep." Just then, Aquagirl withdrew her hand. "What's the story on him?" Ariel asked.

"He was taken from his home planet by force by a collector who captured creatures that were the last of their kind. He tried to escape day after day, but he wasn't strong enough. As the years passed, the collector grew overconfident and captured someone who was too strong even for him."

"Superman," Batman confirmed and Aquagirl nodded.

"Since he had no way of returning the creatures to their home planets, Superman kept them here, in his Fortress. Starro saw how powerful he was and one day, he attacked him." She looked up at the others. "He's been controlling Kal for years."

"Didn't you ever notice anything off about him?" Batman asked Ariel and she nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, since the year I turned ten. Kal's been like this for six years. But why wait so long to kill us off?" she questioned.

"Because he has...bigger plans," Aquagirl responded, leading the way down into another underground cavern as Green Lantern placed Superman on a table he made, restraining him in case he awoke. "Taking over Superman wasn't enough. He wants the whole world." She opened a door and everyone either groaned in dispair or backed away. The rocks in the cave had more than a thousand mini-Starros.

"Damn," Ariel whistled, "Someone's been busy."

"Ugh, wrong thing to say, Air," Warhawk said, cringing.

"Oh." She blushed. "It's not my fault you have a sick mind." Suddenly, she felt a power surge coming on. "Oh, crap, not now!" A rather large ice stalactite cracked from the ceiling and fell into the water, stimulating the mini-Starros into leaping out of the water at them. Batman managed to hit the one that tried to attack him with an electric blast, but the others weren't so lucky. Even Ariel had been hit by one of the starfish. Green Lantern let go of Superman and the Kryptonite went flying into Barda's hand.

"Barda, give it to me," Batman ordered, holding out his hand, but Barda threw it into the ceiling, causing it to create a tiny hole. "You have to fight this," he pleaded, backing away as everyone approached him. "Aquagirl! Warhawk!" They merely stared coldly at him as Ariel stepped forward, pinning him against the wall. "Ariel..." he whispered, gazing into her now-lifeless sapphire eyes. Reaching up, he placed a hand on her cheek and a spark of recognition lighted in her eyes.

"Terry...?" She slowly let go and he dropped to the floor.

"What are you doing? Stop him!" Barda shouted and Ariel snapped back to her lifeless self.

"My apologies." He threw a flash-and-smoke before she could grab him again, though, and escaped. "Curses," Ariel muttered.

"Don't worry. He will join us soon enough," Superman said calmly, flying up into the air and blasting a hole into the ceiling to go after Batman.

* * *

"Ariel, could you help me open the gate?" Aquagirl asked, resurfacing in the cave.

"Sure." Ariel pulled off her cloak before diving into the water, finding her way to the knob that opened the gate while creating a water bubble around her head so that she could breathe. The two girls pulled on the knob and the gate opened a little. They pulled harder, but the gate wouldn't budge.

Suddenly, a cord wrapped around Aquagirl's wrist and an electric shock was sent through the wire, causing the mini-Starro to fall off and Aquagirl to regain control. She gave a smile towards Batman, who merely gave a thumbs-up before pointing to the surface and then at Ariel. Aquagirl nodded and then swam up to the surface. Batman turned to Ariel as she frowned, still under the starfish's control. He wrapped another cord around her before she could move and then sent another electric shock. The creature fell off, but Ariel fell unconscious, having lost control of the water bubble when she was electrocuted and breathed in too much water.

Batman dove down and grabbed Ariel's limp body, pulling her towards him before activating the rocket thrusters in his boots to launch them to the surface faster. They both shot out of the water and landed safely on the ground. Ariel coughed weakly as Batman held her gently in his arms.

"It's okay, Air, it's okay." When she finally managed to open her eyes, she smiled faintly.

"Thanks." He returned the smile just as Superman knelt down beside them.

"Is she okay?"

"She'll be fine," Batman replied as Ariel sat up and laid her head on Superman's shoulder. Superman merely placed his arms around the girl, closing his eyes in relief.

* * *

"So do we send them to the surface of the sun?" Barda suggested, smirking as she held up the boom tube remote, pointing them at the huge pile of Starros they had rounded up.

"We have no right to kill them," Superman stated sagely and raised an eyebrow confusedly when Warhawk sighed.

"Great, Boy Scout's back." Superman glared at him, but then softened with a smile as Ariel giggled by his side. Aquagirl merely stepped up to the pile, placing a hand against one of them.

"Let me see that remote," she commanded and Barda handed it over to her. She pressed the activation button and they were suddenly in a reddish planet with lots of water. Green Lantern let go of the pile, which he had been carrying in a huge bell jar, before they all returned to the Antarctic.

"Well, kid, I have to admit. I was wrong about you," Warhawk told Batman.

"We all were. You saved us," Barda agreed.

"An understatement, you saved the world!" Green Lantern pointed out.

"Think you can get used to it?" Superman smirked.

"I don't know," Batman started slowly, "You guys play awfully rough."

"We could really use you, ya know," Ariel said with a smile as he returned it reluctantly.

"It would give you one-up on the old Batman. He never made it past part-time," Barda chuckled.

"He wasn't what you'd call a joiner," Superman agreed.

"...maybe he and I have something in common after all," Batman stated bluntly, stalking off towards the Batmobile as Ariel sighed dejectedly and Superman squeezed her shoulder gently.

* * *

When they returned to their apartment, Ariel logged onto her email to check it one last time before turning in for the night. Usually, there would be no emails, but this time, there was.

**You have 1 new message.**

Ariel frowned thoughtfully, clicking on it and then breaking out into a smile as she read the email's contents.

**Hey Ariel,**

**This is Terry. Bruce gave me your email when I asked for it (shocking, I know. The old man usually brushes me off or something when I ask him for a favor). You kind of struck me as lonely and I figured you could use a friend (or at least someone other than Superman). So maybe we could chat sometime. You know, IM or email each other. And we could meet up, too, if you want. Reply soon, okay?**

**-Terry.**

Ariel beamed, her heart going wild. She bit her lip in excitement before clicking Reply.

**Hi Terry,**

**Sure, I'd love to keep in touch! That way, I'd actually have a friend outside of the whole hero business...well, outside of the JL anyway :) and thanks. You're right, I really don't have many friends these days.**

**-Ariel.**

**P.S. I still think you should have joined the JL. I need another teen in the Watchtower to torture Warhawk while I torture Barda! ;) Course there's Marina and GL, but they don't want to have anything to do with this.**

She sent it and then leaned back in her chair, still grinning like an idiot. She added Terry to her contacts list (which was pathetically small) and then turned off the computer before going over to her bed, falling onto it while still smiling. Things were finally looking up.

* * *

**Aww, sweet ending...for now...BWAHAHAHA...R&R!**


	9. Problems Arise

**Problems Arise **

**So all is well for now...enjoy!**

* * *

About a month had passed since the whole Starro incident and Superman had actually recovered quite well. He had immediately gone back to the loving father he had been before.

Ariel was walking home from school one day (she would have flown, but she didn't like to attract attention) when everything went wrong.

"Ariel?" a rough voice sounded, confused. She turned to find a rather tall, thin man staring at her with sharp blue eyes...her eyes.

"Do I know you?" she asked, backing away slowly.

"You should." She froze, and then scowled.

"Stay away from me. I can do things you wouldn't believe."

"The powers? I know," he said calmly and her eyes widened.

"Then you wouldn't be surprised if I do this!" She telekinetically flung a newspaper bundle lying nearby at him before running full-speed back to the apartment. "Kal, someone on the street...said he knew me," she gasped, leaning against the door.

"It could have been one of the other kids' parents," Kal said, looking up from his laptop, though he seemed somewhat worried.

"He knew about my powers." His eyes widened. "And he sort of looked like me."

"I think I know who he is, Air, but it's not something you're going to like," he said slowly and she dropped onto the couch, still exhausted from the run.

"Try me," she said finally and he sat down beside her, pulling her into his lap and running his fingers through her hair as she sighed. She loved it when he did that.

"Air, you really don't want to hear this," he said quietly and she opened her eyes, frowning.

"You're right, I don't." He sighed in relief. "But I need to."

"Damn it," he swore under his breath and a small grin formed on her face.

"Boy Scout, I'm ashamed of you." He merely gave her a glare and she sobered once more. "You're serious, aren't you?" He nodded.

"He's your father, Ariel." She sat up immediately, pulling away.

"No. He was jailed."

"It was only for a few months. He told the police he wanted nothing to do with you after he was released and that was it," he admitted.

"So why did he talk to me now? After so long?" she asked confusedly.

"I don't know." She laid her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. "Do you want to go with him?"

"Don't even think I'd consider that," she whispered. Her grip on him loosened and he tensed, then exhaled in relief, smiling as he realized she had fallen asleep against him. Lifting her up easily, he placed her in her bedroom before sitting down beside her, watching her sleep.

"I love you, angel," he said softly, leaning down to press a small kiss to her forehead.

"Hmm...love you, too," she murmured in her sleep. He couldn't blame her for being tired; she had been up until four in the morning patrolling the city and then had to wake up at six to get to school. The previous night, she had had no sleep at all. Deciding to leave her to her rest, he dropped a kiss on top of her head before leaving the room.

* * *

It was around six in the evening when Ariel awoke and she immediately went over to her computer, logging into her email. Terry had replied to her latest email and she clicked on it.

**Well, Air, a****s much as I'd love to be a part of this one, I'll pass. Bruce would kill me if I was involved with hacking into the Batcomputer and reading all of his personal journal entries. Have fun with your death wish, though :) nah, I'm kidding. I'll be laughing my head off from the sidelines when he finds out you've been in there. And he will find out. He _was_ Batman, you know (nods head sagely) XD. So anything new in Metro?**

"Metro" was Terry's nickname for "Metropolis." She logged into Messenger and was relieved to find that Terry was online.

_**MetroGirl:** Hey, Bats, you there?_

It took a while, but Terry finally responded.

_**BatsInGotham:** Sorry, I was finishing up some Family Studies work. I'm failing :(_

_**MetroGirl:** How does someone FAIL Family Studies?_

_**BatsInGotham:** That's what the old man said when I brought an eggbaby to the cave._

_**MetroGirl:** An EGGBABY! Those are adorable! I had to take care of one once. I left it with a friend, though, for when I went on patrol._

_**BatsInGotham: **I took it on patrol XD._

_**MetroGirl: **YOU DID WHAT TO THE BABY?!_

_**BatsInGotham: **Bruce was confused when he heard the thing crying over the commlink._

_**MetroGirl: **OOH. NEW PRANK IDEA._

_**BatsInGotham: **Dare I ask?_

_**MetroGirl: **We lock Bruce and an eggbaby in the same room until either he or the baby cracks. Pun very much intended._

_**BatsInGotham:** ..._

_**MetroGirl: **Yes?_

_**BatsInGotham:** ..._

_**MetroGirl: **No?_

_**BatsInGotham:** ..._

_**MetroGirl: **Maybe?_

_**BatsInGotham:** ..._

_**MetroGirl: **Lobster?_

_**BatsInGotham:** Huh?_

_**MetroGirl: **Ha, knew that would get your attention._

_**BatsInGotham: **-.-' so anything new in Metro? You didn't answer my mail._

_**MetroGirl: **Yeah, you'll never believe who I met on the street today._

_**BatsInGotham: **Jennifer Lopez?!_

_**MetroGirl:** ..._

_**BatsInGotham:** It could happen!_

_**MetroGirl: **Not really...and no. My dad._

_**BatsInGotham: **Isn't he dead?_

_**MetroGirl: **What gave you that idea?_

_**BatsInGotham: **Well, you never talk about him, so I assumed..._

_**MetroGirl: **Assumptions are icky, Terrence. Never make them._

_**BatsInGotham: **(shudder) Terrence...I'll take "Terry" and "Ter" any day. So, go on, you met your dad..._

_**MetroGirl: **Technically, when I saw him, I didn't KNOW he was my dad._

_**BatsInGotham: **(sigh) What did you do?_

_**MetroGirl: **Oh, I might have thrown a newspaper bundle at him before running away when he mentioned that he knew me in this creepy stalkerish sort of way...and then Kal told me who he was and THEN I found out he was my dad._

_**BatsInGotham: **Well, now that you put it that way, I don't blame you._

_**MetroGirl: **I think Kal's worried. Or scared. Or both._

_**BatsInGotham: **Oh, come on, he's freaking SUPERMAN. What does he have to be afraid about?_

_**MetroGirl: **He thinks I want to go with my dad._

_**BatsInGotham: **Well, do you?_

_**MetroGirl: **No, course not! If I went with my dad, I wouldn't be allowed to patrol the city or go on missions with the JL or ANYTHING._

_**BatsInGotham: **Would that mean you'd never see Warhawk ever again? ...go with your dad, then XD._

_**MetroGirl: **Terry, please, I'm serious!_

_**BatsInGotham: **Sorry, I'll behave. (is a good boy)_

_**MetroGirl: **Yeah right, like you're ever a good boy, Mr. Juvie (that's right, McGinnis, I've read up on you)._

_**BatsInGotham: **(WINCES) That hurt. And does that mean you know where I live? (is scared)_

_**MetroGirl:** (ignoring you) And...I don't want to leave Kal behind. What do I do?_

_**BatsInGotham: **Whatever makes _you_ happy. Don't worry about everyone else. They'll deal._

_**MetroGirl: **Thanks, Ter. I think that's about the most helpful advice I've gotten all day._

_**BatsInGotham: **(is proud of self)_

_**MetroGirl: **...because it's the ONLY advice I've gotten so far._

_**BatsInGotham: **(cries in a corner)_

_**MetroGirl: **Aww, did I hurt the the Big Bad Bat's feelings?_

_**BatsInGotham: **(sniffles) yes._

_**MetroGirl: **HUGS AND GLITTER FOR ALL!_

_**BatsInGotham: **(is hugged and glitterfied) Bruce won't be happy to see me glitterfied when I get to the cave XD._

_**MetroGirl:** I gotta go. Kal's calling me for dinner._

_**BatsInGotham: **XDDDDDDDDDDDDDD_

_**MetroGirl: **What?_

_**BatsInGotham: **Superman...cooking...XDDDDDDDDDDDD_

_**MetroGirl:** I do my fair share of cooking, too, ya know. But yeah, it's a pretty funny thought. But he's in casual clothes now, so it's normal. Now if he was in uniform..._

_**BatsInGotham: **That's what I was thinking LOL._

_**MetroGirl: **Bye, Ter. I'll talk to you soon._

_**BatsInGotham:** Okay. I'll keep the eggbaby and the hacking pranks in mind._

Ariel logged out before thinking about Terry's little mind image. As it came into view, she snickered before stifling her laughter and leaving the room. Whatever her father had planned could wait.

* * *

**The whole "is hugged and glitterfied" thing came from my friend, who is currently reading this story to criticize and compliment me. I gave her hugs and glitter and she replied with that XD. I hope you're reading this (evil grin). Oh, and about the whole eggbaby thing, that was actually an episode in Batman Beyond called (what else?) "The Eggbaby." It's so hilarious. rabbitdog26 has all the Batman Beyond episodes on YouTube, go check it out. R&R!**


	10. The Fight

**The Fight**

**And here's the climax! ...sorta...enjoy!**

* * *

"You know, you could always move in with me," Ariel's father said as they sat on a park bench. They had arranged to meet each other and discuss what he had planned.

"I don't know," she said slowly, "I'm so used to my life already."

"Ariel, I know you have misgivings about me." She rolled her eyes. "And you have every right to be angry or afraid." She merely gave him a condescending look. "But I have changed. And I want you back. I regret not taking you in the day I was released."

"And you expect me to believe that?!" she snapped, "I like my life the way it is, _Dad_. And you had better stay out of it." She stood to leave.

"Wait," her father said, standing up as well and handing her a slip of paper, "In case you change your mind." She glared as she reluctantly dropped the paper into her pocket.

"Don't count on it." She turned and left the park, noting that it was nearing dark. She would have to go on patrol soon.

"Oh, look, if it isn't the _freak_." She turned to find a smirking teenage boy leaning on the wall of an alley. She recognized him as a popular bully at her high school. He attacked mostly freshmen, but also was known to hit sophomores from time to time.

"Get lost, Josh." The spiky-haired boy merely rolled his eyes before kicking off against the wall to land on his feet.

"Been out practicing your magic again?"

"Been out getting illegal slappers again?" she retorted. He scowled, losing the cool façade.

"It's getting dark, you know." He smirked once again, this time cruelly. "Awful things happen in the dark."

"Like what I'm about to do to you if you don't back off?" she snapped, but then froze when he flicked out a switchblade.

"Like what I'm about to do to _you_ to make sure that your magic won't cause any harm." He pushed her against the wall and she screamed loudly before he placed the blade against her throat. She quickly sent it flying deep into a dumpster nearby. "Huh. So you really do have powers." Then she felt his hand close around her throat instead. "Give me a reason," he hissed, his smirk widening into a creepy smile. She felt his rank breath on her face and recognized the scent.

"You..." She gasped; his hand was crushing her windpipe. "You're drunk," she whispered weakly, feeling faint.

"And if I am?" Josh snarled.

"Is there a problem?" a familiar voice questioned and Ariel would have sighed in relief had she not been afraid to lose the remaining air in her lungs.

"Uh, not at all," Josh said quickly, dropping her and quickly stepping away before breaking into a run.

"Ariel?" Superman questioned from somewhere above her.

"Kal..." Then everything went dark.

* * *

Ariel moaned weakly as she awoke. Her head was pounding and everything hurt.

"Kal..." she called softly and felt his hand close around hers, gripping harder than usual, which didn't help the pain.

"I'm right here." The anger in his voice was barely concealed. "And I saw you use your powers." Now she was scared; Kal rarely ever got angry with her.

"He had a knife, what was I supposed to do?" she asked, sitting up.

"Call for help," he snapped.

"He would have killed me the instant I did," she argued, "And I tried to call for help, but no one heard me!"

"I would've heard you!"

"But you didn't!" she pointed out.

"Who was he?" Kal changed the subject.

"Some jerk in my school," she muttered.

"You never told me it was this serious!"

"It _wasn't_ this serious!" she retorted, "Not until tonight! He was drunk!" Then a thought hit her. "Wait...why _didn't_ you hear me?"

"I don't know!" He was obviously still angry with her. She could feel her own temper smolder.

"You've been like this ever since I mentioned my dad! Do you just want me to go with him?! Because I will! I don't know why I picked you over an orphanage!" Before she had realized what happened, she was on the floor, tears burning in the corners of her eyes as she held her cheek in shock. Across the room, Kal stared at his hand, and then slowly lifted his head to gaze at her.

"Ariel..." He took a step forward, but she backed away, eyes wide.

"Stay away from me," she whispered.

"Air, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he tried again, lifting his hand to place it on her shoulder.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" She made a slashing movement with her hand, causing him to fall backwards out the door, which had opened of its own accord. The door slammed in his face and locked itself.

"Ariel, let me in!" he shouted, twisting the doorknob in his hand.

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" He raised a fist to break the door down. Then her next words made him freeze. "I HATE YOU!" His hand dropped to his side limply as his eyes widened.

"Ariel..."

"Just go away!" she cried, dropping back onto her bed and sobbing. Then her cellphone rang and she quickly wiped her tears away before picking up. "Hello?" Her voice broke slightly and she hoped whoever was calling didn't notice.

"Air? It's Terry. I got worried when you didn't come online today and-wait. Were you crying?" Oh great. The one time she _didn't_ want him to call, he did.

"No," she sniffled and there was a small snort of disbelief on Terry's part. "Ter, I think I'm going to go with my dad."

"WHAT?! YOU CAN'T!" She pulled the phone from her ear before slowly bringing it back.

"You're the one who told me not to worry about everyone else. That they would deal."

"But I'm not everyone, Air!" he argued and her heart stopped. She hadn't thought about his reaction. Finally, she found her voice again and, when she spoke, it was trembling.

"I'm sorry, Terry. That's my decision. Bye."

"Wait, Ariel, please-" She hung up before he could retort and then pulled the slip of paper out of her pocket, dialing the number.

"Derrick Swan," her father answered.

"Dad, it's Ariel...you were right. I did change my mind. Can you pick me up?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sure, Air. Where should I meet you?"

"The park," she stated firmly. No need to reveal any identities. "At the entrance. I'll see you soon." She hung up and then grabbed a few clothes, shoving them in her backpack before opening the window, jumping out and then floating down safely after making sure no one was around. She would come back for the rest of her things after Kal had found out she had left.

* * *

"Sorry it took a while," she apologized when she met her father at the gate of the park, "I had to take the long route to avoid some pedestrians."

"Ten minutes, no big deal," her father waved it off with a smile, "Is this it?"

"Yeah. I'll get my other stuff later." He opened the door of the car for her and then closed it when she got in, locking it as he went. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and clicked a black bracelet on her wrist. "What are you doing?!" she asked, now angry.

"You didn't actually expect me to have changed, did you?" he sneered and then she paled. "Obviously, you did. Those years hanging around Superman must have rubbed off on your naivety."

"Superman?" she asked, choosing to play dumb.

"Don't be an idiot, brat," he spat, "My source saw Superman taking you home this evening!"

"What do you want with me?" she demanded.

"It's not what I want, naturally." He stopped outside of LexCorp and her eyes widened. Kal had told her all about Lex Luthor.

"No! Let me go!" He yanked her out of the car and pulled her towards the building. "KAL!" she screamed before he placed a hand over her mouth. She tried to push him off using her telekinesis, but all that got her was a rather painful jolt of electricity. She screamed once more, the noise muffled by his hand.

"I wouldn't use your powers if I were you, Miss Swan," a businessman-like voice came from the shadows.

"Luthor," she snarled once her father had let her go. When Lex retired, his son, Alexander, took over LexCorp and was currently standing merely feet from Ariel.

"It's a special device my company designed, in fact," he continued, lifting her wrist to examine the black bracelet. "Gives a bit of a shock to the person wearing it every time they focus a certain part of their mind on something. The certain part that allows _you_ to activate your meta-gene. Now this one, on the other hand..." he gestured to the gun-like machine in his hand, "...causes a shock whenever I wish. Care for a demonstration?"

"No, I do not care for a fucking dem-" She screamed as he activated the machine and immense pain flooded through her entire body. At long last, the machine was pulled away, leaving her gasping for breath.

"Language, language, Miss Swan," Luthor chided as she shakily pulled herself up while using the desk for support. "Now of course, we don't want anything from you. You're merely our bait for a certain Boy Scout we all know and hate."

"H-How did you know...about me and...Superman...?" she demanded, voice trembling.

"Our inside source, of course." A teenage boy stepped from the shadows and Ariel immediately recognized his spiky hair.

"Josh...you bastard..." she snarled weakly as he smirked down at her.

"Hey, I just want a good seat so I can watch the freak learn her place," he sneered, leaning against the wall smugly.

"Why me? Why not pick someone else?" she asked.

"According to Joshua here, Superman seemed to be very worried about you in particular when you had been attacked. In other words, you are Superman's other Kryptonite," Luthor explained.

"I am not," she hissed, "Not anymore." Luthor pondered this, then shrugged.

"Oh well. At least the Justice League will have one less member. Isn't that right, _Raven_?" Her eyes widened just as he pulled the trigger again. Her screams echoed through the empty office. She tried to push the shock gun away, but then remembered her bracelet and was electrocuted by that as well.

"Please..." she whispered as the gun was pulled away at last.

"What was that?" her father smirked.

"I said...please...go to hell." She smiled smugly as Luthor swore under his breath.

"I swear your kid's a piece of work," he snapped at Derrick.

"She's no kid of mine," the other man growled. Unknown to them, Ariel had closed her eyes.

"Kal...please help me..." she murmured, "I'm sorry." Then for the second time that night, she passed out.

* * *

**Aww, poor Ariel...well not really. She kinda walked right into that one, didn't she? XD R&R!**


	11. Apologies

**Apologies**

**I felt so depressed writing this chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**

Ariel awoke with her throat sore from screaming and her head still pounding. She noticed Josh perched on a chair nearby and realized they were still in the office.

"Josh..." He started and then glared at her. "Why...?"

"You and your freaky friends don't deserve to live," he snapped.

"What did I ever..." She coughed and winced at the pain it caused. "...do to you?"

"You were born." He smirked, glancing at the shock gun, which was leaning against a wall. "And since Luthor's given me free use of the gun..." Her eyes widened as Josh pulled the trigger. A pathetic cry sounded in the room and it took a few seconds to realize that the sound was coming from her.

"Use your powers," he commanded and Ariel weakly shook her head. "USE THEM!" He raised the voltage level and she screamed. It seemed as though each nerve was slowly being lit on fire one at a time.

"I CAN'T! PLEASE, I CAN'T! STOP!" He finally turned off the machine and she felt her head fall backwards limply as she gasped for breath. "Please...stop..." Tears were falling from her eyes as Josh looked on dispassionately.

"You want to die, don't you?" he whispered finally and she nodded faintly. "Would you like me to end it for you?" She nodded again weakly.

"Please...just stop..." she murmured and he pulled out an actual gun this time and aimed it at her.

"I'm almost sorry it has to end this way," he said wistfully, gazing at her as she returned the stare through glazed eyes. Then he smirked. "Almost." Then he placed his finger on the trigger as Ariel's eyes closed.

"STAY AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER!" she heard a furious shout and then a cry of pain as Josh was flung into the wall. "Ariel? Oh God, Ariel, wake up!" a familiar voice pleaded as she was lifted into someone's arms. She opened her eyes slowly to find...

"Kal..." she whispered, smiling weakly with relief, "You...you came..."

"Course I came," Superman replied, returning the grin.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." she apologized.

"Shh...it's okay. You can tell me later," he said gently, standing up with her in his arms.

"Luthor...my dad..." she tried to speak, but he cut her off.

"They've been dealt with." His expression turned angry. "What did they do to you?"

"Zapped me a few times..." She coughed weakly and winced before laying her head on his shoulder as he lifted into the air, flying towards the nearest hospital. "Told me...I was bait for you..."

"Okay, that's all I need to know," he said quietly, repeating, "You can tell me later."

"Kal..." she whimpered as a spasm of pain went through her body, "It hurts."

"I know, angel. Believe me, I know." She smiled at the use of her nickname.

"You're not..." She coughed, cringing again. "...mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at-? Oh." He gazed down at her, pain evident in his eyes. "I guess I have to apologize, too."

"Hmm...tell me later..." she said softly as he chuckled.

"Okay, later." Then he tensed as she cried out weakly. "What is it?!"

"Hurts..." she whispered.

"Shh, it's going to be okay, Air. It'll be okay," he reassured her, pressing his lips to her forehead as she relaxed slightly.

"I know..." She smiled one last time, causing him to soften and return it sadly. "...I love you..." Then her eyes closed as her grip on him loosened.

"No, Ariel, hang on, we're almost there!" Her hand that was grasping his shoulder tightly fell limply to her side. "ARIEL!" He landed in front of the hospital emergency room and ran inside. "Get her medical attention, now!" he snapped at a nearby nurse, who immediately called a stretcher.

"There's nothing you can do for her now," she said as he lowered Ariel onto the stretcher gently.

"I know." He gazed at the unconscious teenage girl for a moment before turning away, finding it too painful. "I have to notify her guardian and the police." The nurse nodded as he flew away.

* * *

Within minutes of reaching the hospital again, this time in civilian clothes, Kal's cellphone began to ring.

"Now's not a good time," he hissed when he realized that the call was coming from Bruce.

"Terry's been going insane with worry over Ariel ever since she hung up on him last night. Now what's going on?" the old man demanded. In the background, Kal could hear Terry chanting, "What's he saying? What's he saying? What's he saying?" over and over.

"Ariel was kidnapped by Luthor." Terry went silent at this. Apparently, he was on speakerphone. "Her father and a boy from her school were working for him."

"Where is she now?" Bruce demanded.

"She had to be hospitalized. Luthor used a bracelet to cause a shock everytime she used her powers and a shock gun." A sharp intake of breath came from Bruce.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Terry spoke finally.

"I don't know." Swallowing the lump in his throat, he admitted, "The doctors don't think she'll wake up."

* * *

**Aww, poor Kal. I really felt bad for him while typing this up. R&R!**


	12. In The Hospital pt 1

**In The Hospital pt. 1**

**In this first part, Kal, Bruce, and Terry will visit Ariel through their points of view. Second part will be through her eyes...so to speak. The chapter after part 2 will continue in third POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Bruce's POV**

Terry had basically begged me to let him come along to see Ariel (he had actually gotten down on his knees before I told him to stop acting like an idiot and get up). Not that I needed much persuasion. Over the years, the girl had sort of grown on me and I knew she had had the same effect on Terry. So I gave his mother and school an excuse about him having to take me to see a family friend, which was almost true in a way.

"She's in here," Kal stated, opening the door quietly. The man was falling apart at the seams. I slowly made my way into the hospital room and immediately cringed at its white blandness. Everything was white and sterile. Well...everything except the girl in the bed, though she seemed to be well on her way to becoming just as white.

I stepped over to her bedside and hesitantly reached out, placing a hand on her forehead and then flinching involuntarily when I realized how cold she was. She didn't move an inch.

"You don't know what you're doing to Kal and Terry," I spoke finally. I had never seen the point of speaking to an unconscious person, since they wouldn't be able to respond, but something compelled me to continue talking. "You're tearing them apart." She remained deathly still. I took a glance at all the tubes and wires connected to her and then sighed. "When I first met you, I wondered why Kal had brought you into this world. Our world. It's no place for a kid. I _still_ have misgivings about letting Terry take out the Batsuit every night.

"Over the years, I received little video clips and pictures of you growing up from Kal. And when you learned how to email, you kept in contact with me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that, by the way." I allowed myself to smile slightly; no one was watching. "It had been over ten years since I had been in contact with anyone. And then I ended up receiving daily emails from you with every single detail of your day involved."

I reached out and pushed a strand of dark hair out of her pale face.

"The saddest part was that I was actually looking forward to your emails after a while. And I was looking forward to replying. Shows how pathetic my life was back then...and still is."

I smirked, but then let the smile drop.

"When I met you face-to-face again after so long during the Justice League fiasco...I couldn't believe that the little girl who had gotten Superman in trouble with me had grown up so much, despite the pictures and videos I had received from both of you. After seeing the way you had faked your own death and then handled the situation, I had no doubts that you were ready.

"But I suppose every hero or heroine falls eventually." I lowered my gaze to the edge of the white hospital bed. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, Ariel. You don't deserve it." I sighed once more, coming to a realization. "I was wrong. You're not just tearing Kal and Terry apart...you're worrying _me_, too." I closed my eyes briefly before opening them again and gazing at the unconscious young girl. "Please wake up." The words involuntarily fell out of my mouth and I stood quickly, leaving the room.

* * *

**Terry's POV**

I was in shock when Superman had said Ariel was not going to make it. When Bruce said he was going to see her, I had to beg him to let me come along. It was a good thing he agreed, though.

When Bruce came out of the room, Kal gestured for me to go in. I guess he wanted to go last.

Slowly sitting down on the bed's edge, I couldn't help but stare at how pale she was.

"Ariel?" I reached out hesitantly, flinching when our skin made contact. She was so cold. "Air, come on, you gotta come back." She stayed still. "Besides Max, you're the only one I can actually talk to. I'd talk to Bruce, but you know how the old man is with conversations." I chuckled slightly, but then was brought back to the present. "You know, Dana and I broke up again. I don't know why I keep crawling back to-wait." I had just remembered a conversation Ariel and I had had when we had met up in Gotham. Bruce and Kal called it a "play date" to tease us.

_"Hey, Ter, I've a dilemma," Ariel stated, sitting on the edge of the fountain in Gotham Central Park._

_"Does it involve boys?" I asked with trepidation._

_"Just one," she smiled and I reluctantly nodded. "Okay. So there's a guy."_

_"We've established that," I pointed out and got a punch in the arm. "Ow!"_

_"Yeah, but problem is, he has a girlfriend." She scowled. "She dumps him the instant he accidentally stands her up, but he's so hung up on her that he goes crawling back to her every time."_

_"Yikes. That _is _a problem." I pondered for a moment before suggesting, "Give up on him?"_

_"Dream on," she smirked and then softened, "Ter, I really like him. Maybe even love."_

_"Love?" I gulped. I didn't have a chance with her. Wait, I had a girlfriend. Why should I care? I sighed and suggested, "Keep waiting. Maybe he'll open his eyes and see how she's treating him...I don't know why he hasn't already." She smiled sadly, as though she was in on a joke that I wasn't._

_"Yeah. Me neither."_

"Ariel...that day in the park...were you talking about me?" I whispered, though I knew she wouldn't respond. She didn't have to. "Oh, damn." I smacked myself in the head before burying my face in my hands. "Air, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." I reached out once more and stroked her hair gently. "I can't believe I was so stupid not to see it sooner." Then I smiled slightly. "I guess you have a chance with me now. Because I'm done crawling back to Dana." I hesitated before leaning forward, pressing a light kiss to her forehead. "Please wake up," I whispered before moving away.

* * *

**Kal's POV**

I watched as Terry exited the room and gestured for me to go in. Slowly, I got up and entered the room.

"Hi, Ariel. It's me." She didn't move an inch. "Air, I am so sorry," I apologized, stroking her hair. I knew how much she loved that. "When you were attacked, I lost control. I took my anger on that boy out on you and made up a reason for it to sound logical...which it didn't. You were only using your powers in self-defense and I am so proud of you for that."

I sighed, knowing that wasn't all.

"I also didn't mean to hit you. Like I said, I lost control. I never wanted to hurt you." I felt a burning in the corners of my eyes and rubbed at them impatiently. I hadn't cried in years, not since I had lost Lois. I leaned forward and gave Ariel a kiss on the forehead. "Please wake up." The burning in my eyes grew worse until I felt the tears start falling. "I love you, my angel," I murmured, placing my hand on top of hers. It twitched underneath mine and I frowned, looking up at the EKG monitor. Her heart rate was back to normal, opposed to the near-flatline it had been when I had entered the room.

"Kal...?" a weak whisper reached my ears and my eyes widened.

* * *

**Watch for Ariel's POV on all three visits. R&R!**


	13. In The Hospital pt 2

**In The Hospital pt. 2**

**And here's Ariel's POV. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Ariel's POV**

"Ah, damn! I can't be dead!" I moaned, staring at my own body in the hospital bed. Then I glanced at myself and saw that I was completely transparent and ghost-like. "SLAGGIT!" I whined and then started when Bruce came in. "Bruce!" He didn't even acknowledge me. "Oh, right, dead." I smacked myself in the forehead. Bruce stopped at the side of the bed, reaching out to touch "my" forehead, but then flinching at the coldness of "my" skin.

"You don't know what you're doing to Kal and Terry," he spoke finally and I jumped at the sudden speech. He stayed silent, as though contemplating something, before continuing, "You're tearing them apart."

"I am?" I asked, even though I knew he wouldn't answer me directly. He took a look at the tubes and wires connected to "my" body and sighed.

"When I first met you, I wondered why Kal had brought you into this world. Our world. It's no place for a kid. I _still _have misgivings about letting Terry take out the Batsuit every night."

"Well, that's no surprise. He is pretty immature," I pointed out.

"Over the years, I received little video clips and pictures of you growing up from Kal. And when you learned how to email, you kept in contact with me. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that, by the way." He smiled slightly and so did I; it was a rare occurence. "It had been over ten years since I had been in contact with anyone. And then I ended up receiving daily emails from you with every single detail of your day involved." I smiled in reminiscence as he reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind "my" ear. "The saddest part was that I was actually looking forward to your emails after a while. And I was looking forward to replying. Shows how pathetic my life was back then...and still is." I chuckled.

"Nah, Bruce, your life isn't pathetic. It's just you." He would have given me a Bat-glare if he heard me say that. Good thing he didn't.

Bruce gave an ephemeral smirk before letting it drop.

"When I met you face-to-face again after so long during the Justice League fiasco...I couldn't believe that the little girl who had gotten Superman in trouble with me had grown up so much, despite the pictures and videos I had received from both of you. After seeing the way you had faked your own death and then handled the situation, I had no doubts that you were ready." I smirked.

"Thanks for the faith."

"But I suppose every hero or heroine falls eventually." He lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, Ariel. You don't deserve it."

"It's okay, I don't mind," I replied softly.

He sighed once more, "I was wrong. You're not just tearing Kal and Terry apart...you're worrying _me_, too."

"Sorry," I grinned sheepishly, then softened, "Bruce, don't worry. It's okay." He gave no indication that he heard me, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again.

"Please wake up," he said finally and, by the way his eyes widened, I didn't think he meant to say it out loud. He stood quickly, leaving the room.

"Bruce!" I called, but didn't think it would help. Then I sighed in relief as Terry came in rather cautiously.

"Ariel?" he asked, reaching out and flinching as well when "my" cold skin made contact with his. "Air, come on, you gotta come back."

"I _am_ back," I retorted, "Ter, I'm right here."

"Besides Max, you're the only one I can actually talk to. I'd talk to Bruce, but you know how the old man is with conversations." Without realizing, he chuckled just as I giggled. "You know, Dana and I broke up again. I don't know why I keep crawling back to-wait." My eyes widened in shock as I realized what he was figuring out. "Ariel...that day in the park...were you talking about me?" he asked and I nodded.

"Yes," I admitted, then smiled, "Took you long enough, Bats."

"Oh, damn," he muttered before smacking his forehead and placing his head in his hands. "Air, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." He stroked "my" hair and I smiled, running my hand through my hair self-consciously.

"Terry, it's okay," I said softly, reaching out, but my hand went right through his head. "GAH, CREEPY!"

"I can't believe I was so stupid not to see it sooner," Terry continued. Then he smiled and my heart warmed at the sight. "I guess you have a chance with me now. Because I'm done crawling back to Dana." My eyes widened and I leapt up in joy.

"YES!" I giggled, landing beside Terry, who was still unaware of my presence. I beamed as I saw him lean forward and press his lips to "my" forehead. Then I sighed dejectedly, wishing I could feel that. Then he pulled away, staring miserably at "me."

"Please wake up," he whispered and the words affected me more than they did when Bruce said them. I felt a sharp pang in my heart as I watched Terry walk out the door. After a few minutes of waiting, Kal came in and I smiled gently.

"Kal..." He sat down beside "me" and sighed.

"Hi, Ariel. It's me."

"Duh, I know that," I laughed.

"Air, I am so sorry," he apologized and I sobered as he began stroking "my" hair.

"No, don't be," I argued, even though I knew he wouldn't hear me.

"When you were attacked, I lost control. I took my anger on that boy out on you and made up a reason for it to sound logical...which it didn't. You were only using your powers in self-defense and I am so proud of you for that," he explained and my eyes widened.

"Really? You are?" He merely sighed.

"I also didn't mean to hit you. Like I said, I lost control. I never wanted to hurt you."

"I know, Kal," I whispered, "I know. I'm not mad." He rubbed at his eyes quickly and then leaned forward, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"Please wake up," he whispered and then the tears began falling. I had never seen him cry before, not even when he talked about Lois. The fact that he was so upset made me miserable as well.

"Kal, please don't cry," I pleaded, silvery tears pouring down my cheeks. He didn't listen, though, for the tears kept falling.

"I love you, my angel," he murmured and I looked at my body, making my decision.

"I love you, too, Boy Scout," I whispered one last time, in case something went wrong. Just as he placed his hand over "mine," I re-entered my body and forced my hand to move slightly.

Also forcing my eyes open, I managed to call, "Kal...?" His eyes widened in relief.

* * *

**Count on the next chapter being the last one. Then I'll have an alternate ending chapter after this and that's it. R&R!**


	14. A Happy Ending

**A Happy Ending**

**Sorry I couldn't update sooner...my uncle took me out for dinner. Hmm...Alfredo pasta's good even in India...enjoy!**

* * *

"Ariel!" Kal drew her into a hug, causing her to wince slightly. "Sorry," he apologized, letting go as she grinned.

"It's okay."

"No, really." His expression softened. "I'm so sorry. For everything."

"I know," she smiled, "Me too." She immediately moved forward and placed her head on his shoulder as he returned the hug, clutching her tightly. She felt something wet fall down her back and tightened her grip on him. "If you're gonna cry, I'm gonna cry, and I think I've had enough emotion for a lifetime. I'm almost ready to imitate Rachel." He chuckled before pulling away, wiping his eyes quickly.

"Good point, you don't want Bruce and Terry to see you crying," he teased, "Especially not Terry."

She blushed and then asked, "They came?" Best to play dumb; she had been unconscious at that time.

"Course. Bruce called, saying that Terry was overly worried about you and I filled them in. They came here right away," he informed her, "I'll send Bruce in." She nodded as he moved for the door. "Guys, she's awake!" Terry's sound of relief came from the hall and Kal merely rolled his eyes as Bruce stepped past him and into the room.

"Hi." She smiled and he couldn't help but return it.

"Hi." She moved over so that he could sit down beside her.

"So did I drive you all crazy with worry?" she teased.

"Well, you certainly did so with Kal and Terry."

"Of course, you didn't worry at all," she pointed out, smirking.

"Of course," he returned. Then he gave her a glare, "Don't ever do that again."

"Yes, sir," she chuckled, then moved over to rest her head on his shoulder. "I love you, too."

"I didn't say that," he said, though his voice was soft.

"You didn't have to," she replied and he awkwardly returned the hug, squeezing her shoulders slightly before pulling away.

"I should probably let Terry see you. The boy's been falling apart since we found out you were in here." He stood and called for Terry, who appeared almost as though he had been waiting right outside. Then again, he probably _had_ been.

"Hi, Air," he greeted with a smile as Bruce left the room.

"Hi, Ter," she replied as he sat down beside her. "I'm sorry. About that night. I guess I should've thought it through."

"It's okay," he responded, "Kal told me you two got in a fight and that you were still upset over it when I called." Then he frowned. "I think I had a sort of epiphany while you were out."

"Did you?" she asked, pretending to be clueless as her heart picked up speed. Thankfully, the EKG monitor hadn't pointed that fact out for the room to hear.

"Yeah...remember that day in the park? When we first met face-to-face after the Justice League incident?"

"Yeah," she said thoughtfully, thinking back to that day and realizing the hints she had given.

"I think I have a solution for your problem," he stated and she raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said quickly. She didn't want to get her hopes up.

"Ariel." The sound of her name stopped her...or rather, the _voice _that had said her name stopped her. Slowly, he lifted her chin up so that their eyes were meeting and then, hesitantly, he touched his lips to hers. Then, just as the kiss had started, it ended as he pulled back, grinning. "So, love, huh?" She blushed and, when he raised an eyebrow, she gave up.

"Okay, yes, I love you, are you happy? Get back here, I wasn't done kissing you!" she exclaimed and he merely smiled.

"I love you, too." Before she could respond, he was pressing his lips against hers once more.

She let out a soft gasp of excitement as she reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss. It was as though everything else in the world had frozen and then dissolved into nothing. All that she could feel was Terry's warm lips on hers. He complied, moving his hand from her face and placing it on the back of her neck. It was only when someone cleared his throat that they pulled apart as though they had been stung by each other, blushing furiously as they noticed Kal and Bruce smirking in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, are we interrupting?" Kal teased and Terry flushed, but then smiled softly down at Ariel as she laid her head on his shoulder.

* * *

Three days after she had awoken, Ariel was released from the hospital and went home with Kal, who had gotten her backpack from LexCorp after everything had died down.

That night, she lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. She sighed before getting out of bed and silently making her way across the hall. Quietly opening the door to Kal's room, she found him asleep. She smiled softly before tiptoeing over to the bed, wiggling under his arm and curling up against his side like how she used to when she was younger.

"Hmm?" He awoke and then realized who had woken him up. "What's up?"

"Nothing," she stated honestly, "Just wanted to stay with you." He smiled before placing his arm around her and pulling her against him. She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes, listening to the steady beat of his heart. "Kal?"

"Do you have some natural hatred for sleep?" he teased and she smiled, remembering the last time he had used that line: when she had been sick at seven years old.

"No. This time, I had a question," she quoted, smirking.

"Okay, go ahead," he mock-sighed and then she sobered.

"When you found me...you called me your daughter." He frowned worriedly.

"You're not?"

"I honestly didn't think you thought of me that way," she admitted.

"If you don't like it, I'll stop," he suggested.

"No...I like it, Dad. Really." He raised an eyebrow and she smirked. "If I'm your daughter, then you're my father. Deal?" He relaxed and ruffled her hair as she laid her head back on his chest.

"I can live with that." She didn't have to look at him to know that he was smiling. She could hear it in his voice. "I love you, my angel."

"I love you, too...Dad." He continued to stroke her hair as she smiled, closing her eyes and drifting to sleep in her father's arms.

* * *

**And so, our story ends...wait till the alternate ending (evil grin). Thanks to my friend for the idea. R&R!**


	15. An Alternate Ending

**An Alternate Ending**

**My friend suggested this and, despite my depleted energy, I decided I had to write it. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Ariel." The sound of her name stopped her...or rather, the _voice _that had said her name stopped her. Slowly, he lifted her chin up so that their eyes were meeting and then, hesitantly, he touched his lips to hers.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" They both pulled apart to find Aquagirl in the doorway. "Ariel, you knew I liked him!" she screeched.

"Um...did I?" Ariel asked, bewildered.

"That's it, both of you die now!" She attacked them and beat them into bloody pulps before, satisfied, stalking out of the room.

"Um...what just happened?" Kal asked and Aquagirl shrugged.

"They asked for it."

"Right..." Bruce merely rolled his eyes as Ace, who had been brought along, cocked his head confusedly.

* * *

**I really have lost my energy, so it wasn't that funny. Oh well. I'm glad everyone liked the story (except for this chapter, which it's okay to hate). Oh, and the reason I found this funny was...well...has anyone who's seen The Call ever noticed how Aquagirl looked like she was flirting with Terry throughout the entire episode? I noticed, and then my friend (who's never seen the episode) said this and I laughed at the irony. Ah well, R&R!**


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